Good Samaritan Law

[oddjob]

I know the basics such as "within the scope of your training" and etc.

I asked several retired LEO's this question and no one knew. How does this law deal with a retired LEO who has expired first aid and CPR. I haven't been updated since retiring in 2009.

I tried looking it up and didn't quite find an answer. Anyone know (retired or not)?

[tyrist]

Good samaritan law protects you from legal liability if you render medical aid. Medical aid is the key phrase. One woman got sued by her friend when she rescued her from a burning vehicle without rendering medical aid. The friend became paralyzed and because no medical aid was rendered they held the rescuer liable.

[Sacmedic]

Protection under California's "Good Samaritan" law provides protection to unpaid people who render emergency medical assistance. As long as you meet the reasonable person legal standard you are covered. This would be the "reasonable person, similarly trained, in a similar situation" type of question.

[oddjob]

So the fact my first aid and CPR are expired and I perform an "outdated" method I'm still covered?

[CaptMike]

If you have a smart phone, download the american heart association CPR app and it will show you videos on the most current methods. It is put out by AHA so that anyone can open the app and follow the instructions to provide care. It is put out by AHA, so I would expect (I'm not a lawyer) the info should satisfy the "reasonably trained" standard as a refresher for yor expired certification.

[Doheny]

My non-lawyer guess is that you'd be ok.

I just re-certed my CPR (fireman) and it's changed since you were current. The compression rates have changed, the depth of compression, if you're not a health care provider CPR only without respirations is ok, as well as a few other changes.

You can't be held to a standard you're not trained to, which is essentially the thrust of the Good Sam law.



If in doubt, you can always just dial 911 and watch.

[Notorious]

Good samaritan law protects you from legal liability if you render medical aid. Medical aid is the key phrase. One woman got sued by her friend when she rescued her from a burning vehicle without rendering medical aid. The friend became paralyzed and because no medical aid was rendered they held the rescuer liable.

I remember that case. She pulled her friend out of her burning car and in the process, yanked on her somewhere and rendered her paraplegic or something and her friend turned around and sued her for the improper rescue.

The friend wasn't paralyzed because there was no medical aid, but the crux was that the owner of the car didn't continue with the rescue which would have included medical aid after pulling the friend (probably ex-friend now) out.

I doubt whether or not any medical aid would have made any difference in the paralyzation, but that wasn't the issue. In retrospect, the only thing that case did was make people not want to rescue anyone in a burning car.

[Ubermcoupe]

^^ Van Horn v. Torti (attached) is the referenced case where the woman pulled her friend from a car after an MVA.

There were other factors in that case though, like both women being under the influence and the defendant not being medically trained.

You are right Notorious in that all this case does it make others think twice.

I wish I had a clear answer for you OP.

Render aid as you see fit and, if the situation gets complex, 911 might be able to instruct/take on responsibility for things like CPR or whatever else they may have you do.

[Zedrek]

I would believe that you are OK in this. Having an expired CPR shouldn't really matter. I am an American Heart CPR instructor for Health Care Providers and can tell you from personal experiences that it's not really going to matter. I've seen nurses and doctors screw up the process in class on numerous occasions and in real codes. American Heart has tried to simplify it by teaching layman to just push hard and fast in the center of the chest. They are going to die if you do nothing but they have a slight chance for survival if you do something. Also, there was a case at a retirement apartment complex just recently where the nurse refused to do CPR citing company policy. The 911 dispatcher stated that she would be covered because she was under the guidance of the emergency response system now. For what it's worth, I've stopped at many different accident scenes and rendered first aid and never heard back from any of them except an insurance adjuster for a trucking firm a drunk driver tried to take head on and failed fatally.

[oddjob]

Had coffee with a bunch of retired cops this morning. I asked the question and one of them equated it to "range quals". Not qualified then don't carry a gun. Not up to speed with first aid & CPR then don't perform either. Especially when your retired and have no legal defense.
Except immediate family of course.

[Manolito]

I am a retired EMT and not a lawyer. If you read the law it clearly says medical aid at an accident in my state California. The word accident was always a worry for EMS protocol. Each county in my State California has a protocol to be followed and it required I have a license in each county I worked.

CPR survival to discharge is pretty dismal when you look at the stats.

Hope you don't mind a non leo answer.

[rplusplus]

Just redid the Safety Manual at work... CA updated the law...

http://law.onecle.com/california/health/1799.102.html

Except for those persons specified in subdivision (a), no
person who in good faith, and not for compensation, renders emergency
medical or nonmedical care or assistance at the scene of an
emergency shall be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or
omission other than an act or omission constituting gross negligence
or willful or wanton misconduct. The scene of an emergency shall not
include emergency departments and other places where medical care is
usually offered. This subdivision shall not be construed to alter
existing protections from liability for licensed medical or other
personnel specified in subdivision (a) or any other law.

They modified it to include non-medical after that one lawsuit.

[oddjob]

CPR survival to discharge is pretty dismal when you look at the stats.

Hope you don't mind a non leo answer.

Don't mind a bit.....I'm 0-3 anyways on CPR!!!

As most retired LEO folks (fire too) know its tough to turn down a person who needs help. Two weeks ago I assisted an elderly lady who collapsed at the grocery store. She didn't stop breathing or needed first aid, but I couldn't leave her by herself. 911 was called and off she went to the hospital.

That last post I guess answers it....Retired LEO folks are ok.......Here comes 0-4!

[Zedrek]

Don't mind a bit.....I'm 0-3 anyways on CPR!!!

As most retired LEO folks (fire too) know its tough to turn down a person who needs help. Two weeks ago I assisted an elderly lady who collapsed at the grocery store. She didn't stop breathing or needed first aid, but I couldn't leave her by herself. 911 was called and off she went to the hospital.

That last post I guess answers it....Retired LEO folks are ok.......Here comes 0-4!

I'm 1-2. I found out later they were both child molesters (I work at a prison). The one that lived only made it another six months before he died.

[retired]

Haven't done any since I retired (10yrs., March 31, and still alive!), but I'm 1-10 with children and 1-3 with adults.

I was told by a doc in the ER once, that CPR was only 40% effective and that's if you saw someone drop in front of you due to a heart attack. I don't know if that has imporved with the new method of fast compressions and no breathing until rescue arrives.